The home fitness equipment industry is dominated by devices that require extensive space and often target only one particular type of exercise. The products include motorized treadmills, stationary bikes, stairclimbers, rowing machines, elliptical cross-trainers, free weights and similar equipment. The popularity of such home exercise equipment is due in part to the fact that it allows users to train in the privacy of their own home without the necessity of visiting a commercial gym. The cost of the available home exercise equipment makes acquisition unaffordable for a large segment of the target market. To save costs, the existing products ship with a limited ability to modify the work load of the product, i.e., to add or remove the weight or resistance of the equipment so that the user can effectively complete an exercise. Indeed some devices, such as free weights, lack the ability to modify the work load of an exercise except in large increments (5 lbs, 10 lbs, etc). In addition, some equipment only allows the user to perform one repetitive exercise, which often leads to boredom and a lack of consistent use by the equipment's owners. There is therefore a need for a flexible, innovative and affordable device that can be used in a variety of exercises while allowing the user to adjust the workload of the device in small increments. The current invention is just such a device.